Alright, let’s talk about something that crossed my mind recently – Brock Lesnar’s stint trying out for the NFL. Yeah, that Brock Lesnar. The Beast Incarnate from WWE. It’s a weird piece of his history, right? So I decided to actually dig into it a bit, refresh my memory on how that whole thing went down.
I started by just trying to remember the basics. Which team was it again? Took me a second, but then it clicked – the Minnesota Vikings. Makes sense, given where he’s from. This was back in 2004, if I recall correctly. He’d just left WWE at the top of his game, which was a shocker in itself.
My Process of Looking Back
So, I began piecing together what happened. First thing I looked for was how he actually performed physically. I remember hearing about his NFL Combine results.
- Dude was huge, obviously. Like, massive.
- But he was also fast for his size. Ran a pretty good 40-yard dash time.
- Jumped high too, apparently. Just a pure freak athlete.
No surprise there, honestly. The guy was built different. But football’s more than just being big and fast, right? That’s what I wanted to figure out next – how did he actually play?
Then I remembered the big setback he had. That motorcycle accident. Happened right around training camp time, I think. That really messed things up for him. Heard he broke his jaw, bruised a bunch of other stuff. Trying to come back from that and learn a new sport at the highest level? Man, that’s tough.
Watching the Tapes (Metaphorically)
I tracked down some info about his preseason games. He actually got some playing time on the defensive line. From what I gathered, he looked pretty raw. You could see the power and the speed sometimes, but the technique? The football instincts? That stuff takes years, and he was trying to cram it all in real fast.
Here’s the kicker: He made it through a lot of the cuts, surprisingly. Got all the way to the final round before the season started. The Vikings saw something, clearly. But in the end, they cut him.
They apparently offered him a spot to go play in NFL Europe, to get more experience. But Lesnar? He turned it down. Said nah, it was NFL or bust for him. Gotta respect the ambition, I guess. Or maybe just the stubbornness.
Final Thoughts
Looking back on it now, it’s just wild. You got a guy who conquers pro wrestling, decides “I’m gonna play pro football” with basically zero experience since high school, almost makes a team despite a bad injury, gets cut, and then goes on to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion. It’s nuts.
What it really showed me, though, is just how incredibly hard it is to play in the NFL. You can be one of the best athletes on the planet, like Lesnar undeniably was, and still not make it. It’s a different beast entirely. Different skills, different mindset needed.
So yeah, that was my little dive into the Brock Lesnar NFL saga. A crazy detour in a crazy career. Definitely an interesting story to revisit.
